NEW FACES AND ROLES

New lab tech joins water quality unit
The CRD water quality lab, which runs samples for beach and shellfish testing, welcomed a new hire Aug. 1. Caroline Golightly previously worked for Auburn University, where she worked at the university’s Shellfish Laboratory in Dauphin Island, Ala. She is currently finishing her master’s degree at Jacksonville University. In her free time, she enjoys camping with her dog, Sashimi. 

Marine tech moves to Habitat unit 
Marine technician and Brunswick native Dillon Metz transferred to the Habitat Enhancement and Restoration Unit Aug. 1. Metz previously worked with the Marine Sportfish Population Health Survey and has been a full-time CRD employee for nearly three years. 

Richmond Hill-based tech transfers to Brunswick office
Haley Blische, a CRD marine tech since 2022, made the transfer from the Richmond Hill office to her home area of Brunswick on Aug. 16. She will continue to work for the Marine Sportfish Population Health Survey, though focusing on southern coastal Georgia under her new supervisor, Ryan Harrell.  She is originally from Maryland, which she says is famous as “the Blue Crab capital of the world.”

Wisconsin native joins CRD as GIS specialist
Wisconsinite and former UGA graduate student Max Kleinshans joined CRD on Sept. 1 as a GIS specialist. Prior to joining the division, Kleinshans was finishing his master’s degree with UGA’s Fox Laboratory studying the habitat use and population dynamics of sturgeons in the Altamaha estuary.

Grants coordinated promoted to business manager
Grants manager Kari Podres was promoted to business manager Sept. 1. Podres has worked for CRD since 2021 and previously worked for the University of Georgia. She is a graduate of UGA and was a semi-finalist in her adult mini-golf league last season in Glynn County. 

Creel clerk moves to fisheries tech role
Ashton Nazaroff, who previously worked for CRD as a creel clerk for the Access-Point Angler Intercept Survey for recreational fishers, transferred Oct. 16 to the Richmond Hill office to work on the Sportfish Population Health Survey. In his free time, he enjoys working on ideas with his 3-D printer and would like to find ways to implement his creations into the marine science realm.

Double-major joins CRD water quality unit
A recent graduate of College of Coastal Georgia with a double-major in Environmental Science and Biology in May joined CRD’s Water Quality unit as a technician Aug. 16. Nellie Little previously worked with the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research Network, and the UGA Sturgeon lab. She has also worked in Montana looking at the chemical composition of lakes in Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake. In her free time, she enjoys sailing had has been practicing it for 13 years.